Action measurement at the 12th fret?

[Chas007]

How low do you go? What do you like your string height to measured at the 12th fret?

[Macpage]

Dread is 5/64" low e + .005 relief.

GA is 6.5/64" low e + .007 relief.

Recently picked up a Yamaha that came with a playable 4.5/64" low e + .007 relief. Easiest acoustic to play I have ever experienced. I can't see going lower, and anything much over 7/64" would be more useful for me as as club or decorative stick!

Best,

Mac

[KevinH]

Strictly a fingerpicker here. I set my guitars to around 5.5-6/64" on the bass E and 4/64", or slightly less, on the treble e. Relief varies from near 0 to about 0.004".

[Rev Roy]

12th fret = E 3/32” e 2/32”
Relief = .005”

[Brucebubs]

About 2.25mm.

[Mezner]

I prefer 2mm on the low e end which is about 0.078 inches or so. Low enough for easy finger style, high enough to prevent buzz when I want to dig in a bit more.

[Jeremy]

4/64 treble
6/64 bass

[jontewright]

Originally Posted by Mezner

I prefer 2mm on the low e end which is about 0.78 inches or so. Low enough for easy finger style, high enough to prevent buzz when I want to dig in a bit more.

This ^^^
I could just about live with 2.25mm but that would be my absolute limit.

[JayBee1404]

3 and 2, with ~0.006” of relief. Same numbers on all four guitars.

[Silly Moustache]

All of my guitars are set up with the same action but, of course they all move from time to time.

Most are about .100- .110" bass and .080-.090" treble.
Relief is usually about .007" (=/-)

[EZYPIKINS]

I play .011"-.052" strings. My action at 12th fret is .052" for 6th string. (FYI a dime is .053" thick) Graduating .02" per string down to .042" for 1st string. Relief set to .005" Playing this low. Truss rod will need adjustment 2 or 3 times a year, as seasons change. Can need adjustment just by going to different climates. The worst one is going up to Denver. You'll need to adjust between sound check and the gig. People who have never played a guitar set like this, say it's too low. I just say. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I play in standard tuning, open G, open D, as well as a full step down. Been gigging with my guitars set like this for over 30 years. I play from the nut to the body. Live sets usually between 45-90 minutes. Plays like butter.

[AndrewG]

I have no idea. I do my setups by feel; if it feels right and sounds right, it is right. No two guitars are the same, so what feels right on one may not do so with another given the same measurements, hence my setups vary between instruments.

[rmp]

5 steel string acoustics, with one being a 12 strings.

they are all here:

5/64s low E
3~4/64s high E

I use 12~53s (light gauge) and most of the time phosphor bronze.

[Mike McLenison]

1/16" at both E strings - zero relief (forces the top to be driven harder)

And I plow into the strings with a 3mm pick with no fret buzz. Being a machinist for years does help to calibrate the set-up I prefer.

[llew]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

12th fret = E 3/32” e 2/32”
Relief = .005”

What Roy said...